Hoàng Lan

Bàu Trạng jumping tiny shrimp salad, a specialty of Quảng Trị Province’s Vĩnh Tú Village, is hugely appealing for foodies, including visitors and travellers to the province.

Bàu Trạng, a small branch of the Thủy Ứ Basin, is renowned nationwide. With a large water surface, Bàu Trạng offers a rich harvest and abundance of shrimp and fish, particularly jumping shrimps, the main ingredient to make the salad, said local Phạm Thị Bàng.

The selection of ingredients to make the famous dish include many sorts of fresh herbs such as parsley, lemon, green mango, green pepper, chilli and garlic. But the humble lemon is the main ingredient, which not only helps to keep the shrimp soft, but also creates a special fragrance for the recipe, with a lovely tangy taste, to make the dish even more enjoyable, Bàng said.

An amazing tasty bowl of Bàu Trạng jumping tiny shrimp salad dish, a specialty of Quảng Trị Province. — Photo baoquangtri.vn

Aside from the jumping shrimps, which come from rivers and canals, there are also tiny shrimps available in the fields from March to May. At these times, the shrimps are sweet, firm and fragrant. They can be cooked into a wide variety of tasty great dishes such as roasted tiny shrimp, tiny shrimp mixed with papaya salad and fermented shrimp.

Asked about how to make the dish, Bàng said the tiny shrimps need to be soaked in lightly salted water for five minutes and then the chef needs to squeeze lemon juice into the shrimp pot and quickly close the lid, so the shrimps can't escape.

The final step is to get the shrimp out from the pot and stir them well with fresh herbs including the key one, parsley, fresh chilli and minced garlic, said Bàng, noting that the recipe is even more enjoyable if diners put a spoonful of the tiny shrimp dish and herbs on rice paper, wrap up the parcel and dip it in a tasty great sauce made from mustard and soy sauce.

Newly caught tiny shrimps, the main ingredient of the dish. — Photo special.nhandan.vn

Bàng said foodies would never forget the wonderful combination of tastes. The spice of mustard rushing up your nose, followed by a mixed sweetness, the firmness of fresh tiny shrimps and the buttery taste of roasted peanut.

She told Việt Nam News that many lovers of the dish became so addicted that they would eat it twice a day, if they could.

Meanwhile, visitor Trần Vĩnh Doanh from Hà Nội said during his tour to Vĩnh Tú Village’s Thủy Ứ Basin, he went out with a local fisherman Lê Văn Thương to experience netting the tiny shrimps to be able to enjoy the dish at home.

A bounty of green vegetable and herbs help elevate the dish to new levels. — Photo special.nhandan.vn

“I’ve travelled through many water basins but I like Thủy Ứ Basin the most because of its natural beauty, an extremely valuable treasure presented by the Earth. Thanks to many underground water sources, the basin is full of water year-round,” said Doanh.

A fisherman netting tiny shrimps at the Thủy Ứ Basin where Bàu Trạng is one of its branches. — Photo tapchicuaviet.vn

“I was so impressed with the tiny sshrims, with their crystal bodies. After touring the basin and netting the tiny sshrims, we returned to Thương’s home to enjoy the jumping shrimp dish salad made by his wife. We sipped the dish with a cup of wine. It was a perfect relaxing end to our day," he said.

When VietKings in 2022 announced the top 100 specialties of Việt Nam’s 63 provinces and cities, the jumping tiny shrimp salad dish was on the list. — VNS